Secure communications via nfc device

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and apparatus for negotiating a communication link between first and second near field communication (NFC) devices is disclosed. A third NFC device is placed in close proximity with a first host device operatively containing the first NFC device to determine communication information including at least one of a communication mechanism and a data transfer protocol usable by the first host device. The communication information usable by the first host device is stored in a portable device operatively containing the third NFC device. The third NFC device is momentarily placed in close proximity with the second NFC device. The stored communication information of the first host device is transferred from the portable device to a second host device operatively containing the second NFC device. A communication link is established between the first and second host devices to enable the first and second host devices to transfer data between them as a function of the determined communication information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/172,325, filed Jun. 29, 2011, now allowed, which is incorporatedherein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to near field communications.

2. Background Art

Near field communication, or NFC, is a set of short-range wirelesstechnologies, typically requiring a distance of 4 cm or less. NFCgenerally operates at 13.56 MHz and at rates ranging from about 106kbit/s to 848 kbit/s. NFC always involves a reader (or initiator) and atag (or target), the reader actively generates an RF field that canpower a passive tag. This enables NFC tags to be configured so as tohave very simple form factors such as tags, stickers, key fobs, or cardsthat do not require batteries. NFC peer-to-peer communication is ofcourse possible, where both devices are powered. Devices that containboth reader and tag capabilities are called controllers.

Near field communications (NFC) devices can be integrated into mobiledevices, such as smartphones, for example, to facilitate the use ofthese mobile devices in conducting daily transactions. For example,instead of carrying numerous credit cards, the credit informationprovided by these credit cards could be stored onto a NFC device. TheNFC device is simply tapped to a credit card terminal to relay thecredit information to it to complete a transaction. As another example,ticket writing systems, such as those used in bus and train terminals,may simply write ticket fare information onto the NFC device instead ofproviding a ticket to a passenger. The passenger simply taps the NFCdevice to a reader to ride the bus or the train without the use of apaper ticket.

Generally, NFC requires that NFC devices be present within a relativelyclose proximity to each other so that their corresponding magneticfields can exchange information. Typically, a first NFC device transmitsor generates a magnetic field modulated with the information, such asthe credit information or the ticket fare information. This magneticfield inductively couples onto a second NFC device that is proximate tothe first NFC device. The second NFC device may respond to the first NFCdevice by transmitting or generating its own modulated magnetic fieldand inductively coupling this magnetic field to the first NFC device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate the present invention and, togetherwith the description, further serve to explain the principles of theinvention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to makeand use the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an NFC environment.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the NFC communications systemdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of a first embodiment ofthe NFC communication system described herein.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of a second embodiment ofthe NFC communication system described herein.

The present invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. Generally, the drawing in which an element firstappears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in thecorresponding reference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following Detailed Description refers to accompanying drawings toillustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with the invention.References in the Detailed Description to “one exemplary embodiment,”“an exemplary embodiment,” “an example exemplary embodiment,” etc.,indicate that the exemplary embodiment described may include aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every exemplaryembodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same exemplary embodiment. Further, when a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anexemplary embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in therelevant art(s) to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic inconnection with other exemplary embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

The exemplary embodiments described herein are provided for illustrativepurposes, and are not limiting. Other exemplary embodiments arepossible, and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodimentswithin the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the DetailedDescription is not meant to limit the invention. Rather, the scope ofthe invention is defined only in accordance with the following claimsand their equivalents.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardware, firmware,software, or any combination thereof. The following Detailed Descriptionof the exemplary embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature ofthe invention that others can, by applying knowledge of those skilled inrelevant art(s), readily modify and/or adapt for various applicationssuch exemplary embodiments, without undue experimentation, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, suchadaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning andplurality of equivalents of the exemplary embodiments based upon theteaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that thephraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description andnot of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of thepresent specification is to be interpreted by those skilled in relevantart(s) in light of the teachings herein.

Although, the description of the present invention is to be described interms of NFC, those skilled in the relevant art(s) will recognize thatthe present invention may be applicable to other communications that usethe near field and/or the far field without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. For example, although the presentinvention is to be described using NFC capable communication devices,those skilled in the relevant art(s) will recognize that functions ofthese NFC capable communication devices may be applicable to othercommunications devices that use the near field and/or the far fieldwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a NFC environment according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. A NFC environment 100 provideswireless communication of information among a first NFC device 102 and asecond NFC device 104 that are closely proximate to each other(typically between 0 cm and 4 cm spacing). The information may includeone or more commands to be executed by the first NFC device 102 and/orthe second NFC device 104, data from one or more data storage devicesthat is to be transferred to the first NFC device 102 and/or the secondNFC device 104, or any combination thereof. The data storage devices mayinclude one or more contactless transponders, one or more contactlesstags, one or more contactless smartcards, or any other machine-readablemedia that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s)without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or anycombination thereof. The other machine-readable media may include, butare not limited to, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memorydevices, electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagatedsignals such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals toprovide some examples.

NFC devices 102 and 104 may be any of three types of devices. One typeis a tag, or target. A tag is passive. A tag contains data or commands.When brought into communication with another device, the tag transfersdata or commands to the second device. As one example, a tag may be anID card that permits access to a building when the data stored on thetag is read. A second type is a reader, or initiator. A reader generatesan electromagnetic field which is modulated by a tag. An example of areader may be the unit mounted on the building wall that reads theinformation stored in the tag. The reader reads data stored on the tagand may take action based on the received information. A controller is adevice that incorporates features of both a tag and a reader. Thus acontroller may act as a tag, or a reader, or both. For purposes of thepresent disclosure, a tag, a reader, and a controller will be referredto herein individually and collectively as a “NFC device.”

The first NFC device 102 and/or the second NFC device 104 may beimplemented as a standalone or a discrete device or may be incorporatedwithin or coupled to larger electrical devices or host devices such asmobile telephones, portable computing devices, other computing devicessuch as personal, laptop, tablet, or desktop computers, computerperipherals such as printers, portable audio and/or video players,television receivers, a payment system, ticket writing systems such asparking ticketing systems, bus ticketing systems, train ticketingsystems or entrance ticketing systems to provide some examples, or inticket reading systems, toys, games, posters, packaging, advertisingmaterials, product inventory checking systems and/or any other suitableelectronic device that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The first NFC device 102 and/or the second NFC device 104 interact witheach other to exchange information such as data and/or one or morecommands to be executed by the first NFC device 102 and/or the secondNFC device 104. Each NFC device 102 and 104 contains an antenna 106 and108, respectively, to enable NFC devices 102 and 104 to communicate witheach other. One example of such communications is a peer (P2P)communications mode or a reader/writer (R/W) communications mode. In theP2P communications mode, the first NFC device 102 and the second NFCdevice 104 may be configured to operate according to an activecommunications mode and/or a passive communications mode. The first NFCdevice 102 modulates first information onto a first carrier wave,referred to as a modulated data communication, and generates a firstmagnetic field by applying the modulated data communications to thefirst antenna 106 to provide a first data communications 152. The firstNFC device 102 ceases to generate the first magnetic field aftertransferring the first information to the second NFC device 104 in theactive communications mode via the second antenna 108. Alternatively, inthe passive communications mode, the first NFC device 102 continues toapply the first carrier wave without the first information, referred toas an unmodulated data communication, to continue to provide the firstdata communications 152 once the first information has been transferredto the second NFC device 104.

In a communication mode, the first NFC device 102 is sufficientlyclosely proximate to the second NFC device 104 that the first datacommunications 152 is inductively coupled onto the second antenna 108 ofthe second NFC device 104. The second NFC device 104 demodulates thefirst data communications 152 to recover the first information. Thesecond NFC device 104 may respond to the first information by modulatingsecond information onto a second carrier wave and generating a secondmagnetic field by applying this modulated data communications to thesecond antenna 108 to provide a second modulated data communications 154in the active communications mode. Alternatively, the second NFC device104 may respond to the first information by modulating the first carrierwave that is inductively coupled onto the second antenna 108 with thesecond information to provide the second modulated data communications154 in the passive communications mode.

In the R/W communications mode, the first NFC device 102 is configuredto operate in an initiator, or reader, mode and the second NFC device102 is configured to operate in a target, or tag, mode. This example isnot limiting. Those skilled in the relevant art(s) will recognize thatthe first NFC device 102 may be configured to operate in the tag modeand the second NFC device 104 may be configured to operate in the readermode in accordance with the teachings herein without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. The first NFC device 102modulates the first information onto the first carrier wave andgenerates the first magnetic field by applying the modulated datacommunications to the first antenna 106 to provide the first datacommunications 152. The first NFC device 102 continues to apply thefirst carrier wave without the first information to continue to providethe first data communications 152 once the first information has beentransferred to the second NFC device 104. The first NFC device 102 issufficiently closely proximate to the second NFC device 104 that thefirst data communications 152 is inductively coupled onto the secondantenna 108 of the second NFC device 104.

The second NFC device 104 derives or harvests power from the first datacommunications 152 to recover, to process, and/or to provide a responseto the first information. The second NFC device 104 demodulates thefirst data communications 152 to recover the first information. Thesecond NFC device 104 processes the first information. The second NFCdevice 104 may respond to the first information by modulating the secondinformation onto the second carrier wave and generating the secondmagnetic field by applying this modulated data communications to thesecond antenna 108 to provide the second modulated data communications154.

Further operations of the first NFC device 102 and/or the second NFCdevice 104 may be described in International Standard ISO/IE18092:2004(E), “Information Technology—Telecommunications andInformation Exchange Between Systems—Near Field Communication—Interfaceand Protocol (NFCIP-1),” published on Apr. 1, 2004 and InternationalStandard ISO/IE 21481:2005(E), “InformationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange BetweenSystems—Near Field Communication—Interface and Protocol-2 (NFCIP-2),”published on Jan. 15, 2005, each of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

Devices that transfer data between them using NFC capabilities areknown. However, such devices to date only operate within a givenoperating system, such as where the two devices have a known IP addressand the protocols for transferring data between them are known. Afeature of the present disclosure is that data transfer can take placebetween devices that have multiple protocols and/or data transfermechanisms available to them.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which two NFC devices communicate witheach other through a third, intermediary NFC device. A first host device202 contains within it operating equipment 204, including, but notlimited to one or more processors, memory, either temporary or permanentor both, a display, if appropriate, and any other operating equipmentsuitable for that host device. Host device 202 may be any number ofdevices, such as, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, or tabletcomputer, a mobile phone, a television receiver, a video or audiorecorder, or any other device capable of recording and/or displayingaudio and/or video data

A communications module 206 is incorporated into host device 202.Communications module 206 can have any one or more of dial-up, Ethernet,WiFi, Bluetooth, cable modem, 3G, 4G, or any other communicationcapability that allows host device 202 to communicate with one or moreother host devices. Associated with the communication mechanismsavailable to first host device 202, are the protocols available to thefirst host device, including, but not limited to, an IP address, andsignaling, authentication and error detection and correctioncapabilities.

Host device 202 contains data to be transferred. The data includescontext specific information, such as, but not limited to, whether thedata is a photo, a document (including the type of document), a video,etc. The context specific information can include the size of the datafile to be transferred, and any other metadata associated with the datafile that would be needed to reproduce the data file on a second device.The information about the communication mechanisms, protocols, and datacontext specific information of first host device 202 is collectivelyreferred to as the “first host device information.”

A NFC module 208 is incorporated into host device 202 in communicationwith communications module 206. NFC module 208 may also be operativelyconnected to operating equipment 204, particularly to a processor and/ormemory thereof NFC module 208 stores the first host device informationfrom communications module 206 and operating equipment 204, as needed,for transfer to other devices, as will be made clear below.

FIG. 2 also shows a second host device 210. Host device 210 may be anynumber of devices, such as, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, ortablet computer, a mobile phone, a television receiver, a video or audiorecorder, or any other device capable of recording and/or displayingaudio and/or video data. Host device 210 contains within it operatingequipment 212, including, but not limited to, one or more processors,memory, either temporary or permanent or both, a display, ifappropriate, and any other operating equipment suitable for that hostdevice. A communications module 214 is incorporated into host device210. Communications module 214 can have any one or more of dial-up,Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, cable modem, 3G, 4G, or any othercommunication capability that allows host device 210 to communicate withone or more other host devices. Associated with the communicationmechanisms available to second host 210, are the protocols available tothe second host, including, but not limited to, an IP address, andsignaling, authentication and error detection and correctioncapabilities. These communication capabilities of second host device 210are collectively referred to as “second host device information.” A NFCmodule 216 is incorporated into host device 210 in communication withcommunications module 214. NFC module 216 may also be operativelyconnected to operating equipment 212, particularly to a processor and/ormemory thereof.

A portable device 218 is intended to communicate with host devices 202and 210. Portable device 218 may be, but is not limited to, a mobilesmartphone, or a laptop or tablet computer. Portable device 218 may beany device that is capable of being carried or otherwise moved betweenhost devices, such as host devices 202 and 210, incorporating the firstand second NFC devices 208 and 216, respectively. Portable device 218contains operating equipment 220, including, but not limited to one ormore processors, memory, either temporary or permanent or both, adisplay, if appropriate, and any other operating equipment suitable forportable device 218. A third NFC device 222 is incorporated intoportable device 218. NFC device 222 is operatively connected tooperating equipment 220, and particularly a processor and memorythereof. The third NFC device 222 is used as an intermediary to conveyinformation between the first and second NFC devices 208 and 216,respectively.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the steps involved in a first embodiment. Instep 302, portable device 218 containing third NFC device 222 isinitially brought into close proximity with or into contact with firstNFC device 208 in first host device 202. At step 304, first NFC device208 incorporated into first host device 202 transfers (or uploads) thefirst host device communication information to portable device 218 viathird NFC device 222. More particularly, first NFC device 208 transfersinformation about the communication mechanisms incorporated into firsthost device 202, such as whether host device 202 can communicate viadial-up, hard-wire, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, cable modem, 3G, 4G, etc.Further first NFC device 208 transfers all of the protocols that itobtains from communications module 206 and/or operating equipment 204,such as, but not limited to, an IP address, and signaling,authentication and error detection and correction capabilities. Stillfurther NFC device 208 transfers context specific information about thedata to be transferred.

At step 306, portable device 218 stores the first host devicecommunication information received from first NFC device 208 in memoryof operating equipment 220. The memory can be permanent or temporarystorage, such as Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM),or any suitable variation thereof. Portable device 218 may have amechanism (not shown) to automatically or manually erase the first hostdevice information from storage in operating equipment 220 after it hasserved its purpose.

At step 308, after portable device 218 has stored the first host devicecommunication information, third NFC device 222 is brought into closeproximity with or into contact with second NFC device 216. In oneembodiment, at step 310, second NFC device 216 transfers or downloadsthe first host device communication information from portable device 218to second host device 210. At step 312, second host device 210 comparesthe first host device communication information to its own communicationcapabilities and selects the most appropriate communication mechanismand protocol to be used to transfer data from first host device 202 tosecond host device 210. At step 314, second host device 210 establishesa communication link with first host device 202 using the selectedcommunication mechanism and protocol. At step, 316, data is transferredbetween the first host device 202 and second host device 210.

As one non-limiting example, suppose first host device 202 has thecapability to communicate via an Ethernet link, a WiFi link, and aBluetooth link. Further suppose that the data to be transferred includesa video clip. Next suppose that second host device 210 is only capableof communicating over a 3G modem connection. Portable device 218 uploadsthe first host device information, (e.g., including communicationscapabilities, protocols, and data context specific information) fromfirst host device 202 via the communication between first NFC device 208and third NFC device 222. Portable device 218 then downloads the firsthost device information to second host device 210 via the communicationbetween third NFC device 222 and second NFC device 216. Second hostdevice 210 compares the downloaded first host device information withits own communication capability and determines that first host device202 has an Ethernet link. Second host device 210 then uses its 3G modemconnection to go out to the Ethernet with the IP address of first hostdevice 202 (which was included in the first host device information) andestablishes a communication link with first host device 202 over theInternet to enable first host device 202 to transfer the data (e.g., thevideo clip) to second host device 210 to be used by second host device210.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a second embodiment. At step 402, third NFCdevice 222 is brought into proximity with first NFC device 208. At step404, the first host device communication information is uploaded toportable device 218 and stored in memory of portable device 218. At step406, third NFC device 222 is brought into proximity or contact withsecond NFC device 216. At step 408, the second host device communicationinformation is uploaded to portable device 218. At step 410, portabledevice 218 compares the stored first host device communicationinformation with the second host device communication information in itsoperating equipment 220 to determine the optimum communication mechanismand protocol that should be used to share data between first and secondhost devices 202 and 210. At step 412, portable device 218 downloads andtransfers the optimal communication configuration information to secondhost device 210. At step 414, second host device 210 establishes acommunication link with first host device 202 based on the optimalcommunications configuration information determined by portable device218. At step 416, data is transferred between first host device 202 andsecond host device 210.

Using the example given above for the second embodiment, portable device218 selects an Ethernet connection to be used by first and second hostdevices 202 and 210. Third NFC device 222 is then placed into proximitywith or touched to second NFC device 216 to transfer the selectedcommunication mechanism and protocol information to second host device210. Second host device 210 is then able to establish a communicationlink with first host device 202 based on the selected communicationmechanism and protocol information.

In any of the embodiments described above, it is possible that the NFCconnections may require authentication as a security measure. That is,it may be desirable to require that NFC device 222 be authenticated toone or both of NFC devices 208 and 212 before data can be transmittedbetween first host device 202 and portable device 218 and betweenportable device 218 and second host device 210.

In the embodiments described above, a combination of NFC devices isused.

For example, if the third NFC device is or acts as a tag, then the firstand second NFC devices must both be or act as readers. If the third NFCdevice is or acts as a reader, then the first and second devices mustboth be or act as tags. If the third NFC device is a controller, thenthe first and second NFC devices can be or act as readers or tags. Insummary, of the two NFC devices that are in communication with eachother at any one time, at least one device must act as a reader and theother device must act as a tag.

Embodiments have been described above with the aid of functionalbuilding blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functionsand relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of thedescription. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such specific embodiments, without undueexperimentation, without departing from the general concept of thepresent invention. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications areintended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presentedherein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, suchthat the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is tobe interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings andguidance.

The breadth and scope of embodiments of the present invention should notbe limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of negotiating a bi-directionalcommunication link between a first device and a second device, themethod comprising: receiving, by the second device, communicationinformation relating to the first device from a portable device whilethe portable device is within a communication range of the seconddevice; comparing, by the second device, the received communicationinformation to a plurality of communication mechanisms and data transferprotocols; selecting, by the second device, a communication mechanismand data transfer protocol from among the plurality of communicationmechanisms and data transfer protocols based upon the comparing; andestablishing, by the second device, the directional communication linkbetween the first device and the second device that bypasses theportable device using the selected communication mechanism and datatransfer protocol.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transferring data between the first device and the second device usingthe selected communication mechanism and data transfer protocol.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: authenticating the portable deviceto the second device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectingcomprises: selecting the communication mechanism and data transferprotocol to be used to transfer data from the first device to the seconddevice.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving, by thesecond device, the data from the first device using the selectedcommunication mechanism and data transfer protocol.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the second device and the portable device eachcomprises a near field communication (NFC) device, and wherein thereceiving comprises: receiving the communication information while theportable device is within a NFC communication range of the seconddevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of communicationmechanisms comprises: a wireless communication mechanism.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the communication information comprises: an IPaddress of the first device; a signaling capability of the first device;an authentication capability of the first device; an error detectioncapability of the first device; or a correction capability of the firstdevice.
 9. A device for negotiating a bi-directional communication link,which bypasses a portable device, between the device and a seconddevice, comprising: a memory that stores communication informationrelating to the second device; a communication interface configured toreceive the communication information from the portable device; and aprocessor configured to: to select a communication mechanism and datatransfer protocol from among a plurality of communication mechanisms andtransfer protocols based upon the communication information; toestablish the directional communication link between the device and thesecond device that bypasses the portable device using the selectedcommunication mechanism and data transfer protocol.
 10. The device ofclaim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to compare thecommunication information to the plurality of communication mechanismsand data transfer protocols.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein theprocessor is further configured to authenticate the portable device tothe second device.
 12. The device of claim 9, wherein the communicationinterface is further configured to transfer data between the device andthe second device using the selected communication mechanism and datatransfer protocol.
 13. The device of claim 9, wherein the processor isconfigured to select the communication mechanism and data transferprotocol to be used to transfer data from the device to the seconddevice.
 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the communication interfaceis further configured to receive the data from the device using theselected communication mechanism and data transfer protocol.
 15. Thedevice of claim 9, wherein the communication interface comprises: a nearfield communication (NFC) communication interface, and wherein the NFCcommunication interface is configured to receive the communicationinformation while the portable device is within a NFC communicationrange of the device.
 16. A device for transferring data over abi-directional communication link, comprising: a communication interfaceconfigured to receive communication information relating to a seconddevice over a second bi-directional communication link that is differentfrom the bi-directional communication link; and a processor configuredto select a communication mechanism and data transfer protocol fromamong a plurality of communication mechanisms and transfer protocolsbased upon the communication information, wherein the communicationinterface is configured to transfer the data only between the device andthe second device using the selected communication mechanism and datatransfer protocol over the bi-directional communication link.
 17. Thedevice of claim 16, wherein the communication interface comprises: anear field communication (NFC) communication interface, and wherein theNFC communication interface is configured to receive the communicationinformation while the portable device is within a NFC communicationrange of the device.
 18. The device of claim 16, wherein the processoris further configured to authenticate the portable device to the seconddevice.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the communication interfaceis configured to receive communication information after authenticationof the portable device to the second device.
 20. The device of claim 16,wherein the processor is further configured to establish thebi-directional communication link between the device and the seconddevice that bypasses the portable device.